Hopefully, we can resolve

Thirty-four hours until rescue ship arrival

It took us fifteen minutes to bounce to the Kaif dome. The low atmosphere made it more difficult to hear where the commotion was taking place. The density of the crowd was a good indicator. Several bewildered faces glanced at me as they parted to give me passage.

"What do you mean you don't know?!" I heard the voice as I approached the front of the crowd.

"Please calm down, sir." The Overseer replied. "I have told you everything I know. To say more would be to dive into the realm of fantasy."

"I don't care for your fantasy. I want you to answer my damn question!"

"I don't have a different answer than the one I gave you."

Breaking through the crowd brought me to a small cleaning. Standing in the middle was an accusing party pointing their finger at the Overseer.

"I don't believe you!" yelled the man. "Nobody believes you. Everybody knows you're hiding something!"

"I don't know what I can say for you to believe me." The Overseer's tone betrayed years of practice in dealing with unhappy people. "I've shared everything I know with the colony. There are no secrets."

"Oh yeah? Then what was on that cartridge? You were practically begging Pyxis to get it back."

"That cartridge contains something of a personal nature. I lost it during the evacuation from the Raifin dome. Pyxis saw it as something more than what it was, but the matter has been settled. I can do little about the conspiracy theories surrounding it other than promise that its contents are unrelated to our current situation."

"You're lying!" The man stomped his foot as he took a step forward. "You've been lying the entire time! There aren't any rescue ships coming. This is all part of your grand plan!"

"And I have told you, repeatedly, that their last transmission indicated they are less than two days away. I would've informed the colony if I knew anything more."

"You want to keep us locked up in these cages!"

"For what purpose? You're forgetting the current situation affects me just as much as you." The Overseer's frustration started to show.

"Does it really? Everybody knows your house is airlock-rated." The Overseer didn't reply at that. "Got you, don't I? I've done my research too. I've read through the ancient scriptures. I've been doing so since these things started attacking. It's all hogwash on how this almighty deity will save those who believe in him. It's to cry about how boring it was.

"But you see, I learned something. The scriptures warn us about approaching these demons, much less conversing with them. I thought it was because they killed everything in sight. Imagine my surprise when these very scriptures tell us about people making deals with them. Is that not all a politician does anyway? Strike deals?

"So, I adjusted my research. And do you know what I learned? Making deals with demons is very possible. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people have done so in the past! Many of them to great success! And I think... I think it's the same in this case as well! You, Overseer, made a deal with these things. I don't know what you asked, but the price is obvious. Asbestos itself. All of it. That is what you have logged on that cartridge. That is why we're in these vaults. It's not for our protection until the rescue ships arrive. It's a gathering point! A neat little parcel for when the demons come knocking. You're probably planning on slipping out before the final attack. You'll wait it out in your giant house and claim your prize afterward."

The Overseer took a second to answer. "That is the most preposterous thing I've heard."

"Is it? Then show us what's on the cartridge. Show us the Overseer's big secret."

"As I've said, the contents--."

"Show it!"

"I refuse."

"Show it!" A gasp rippled through the crowd when the man pulled a knife from his utility belt.

"Sir," the Overseer said as he instinctively stepped backward. "Please calm down before anybody gets hurt."

"Why?" The man jabbed the knife toward the Overseer. "Will that screw up your plan with the demons? One less sacrifice for your benefactors?"

"You are being irrational. Please put the knife away. Attacking me won't improve our current situation, no matter what you convinced yourself of."

"I'd say the ball is in your court, Overseer. We can resolve all of this if you show us what's on that data cartridge."

"How?" Several heads turned toward me when I stepped closer. "How do you see that playing out? Do you think the demons will leave if the Overseer is dead?"

"Ah, one of the Overseer's dogs!' The man turned to me. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"Why, so you can accuse me of the same thing?" My eyes darted to the knife as I stepped closer.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you're involved. One person would struggle to pull off something of this scale, wouldn't you say? I only wonder how far it goes. Were all the Angels involved?"

"Look," I took a deep breath to calm myself. "I don't know what you've read to make you draw the conclusions you have, but you're wrong. There is no conspiracy. We are all tired, hungry, and stressed inside the vaults. Threatening each other won't help our situation."

"It might if we kill those responsible for it!"

Another step almost brought me within arm's length of the man. "Killing the Overseer will only put blood on your hands. He isn't part of some cult, nor has he contacted the demonic army."

"That's not true. He sent your brother to them.”

I felt the blood drain from my face. "What did you say?"

"Don't you find it strange that Nova disappeared during a demonic fight, only to re-appear during the next?"

"Seir teleported him away as he died. I saw it with my own eyes."

"I'm not convinced. The Overseer probably sent him as an emissary." The man gave a wry chuckle. "Negotiations must have broken down if they sent the big guy as a response."

I don't know when I closed the distance. I only felt a dull pain flashing through my fingers as my fist slammed against the man's helmet. His knife clattered against the ground as he grabbed hold of his head. Another step allowed my fist to sink into his stomach. The man bent over before my knee landed a blow against his helmet. The force of the impact sent him falling onto his back.

"My brother did not talk to the demons." I landed another punch against his helmet as I fell on him. "He slew every demon he saw, even at the cost of his own life." His helmet whistled as air escaped through the newly formed crack. "And this is how you thank him? By accusing him of collaborating with the very things he spent his life fighting against?!" The crack widened with each blow. Desperate gasps for air colored the helmet's whistling, but I ignored it.

"Vega!" I fell back when two arms wrapped around my chest and pulled me back. "Vega, that's enough!"

"No, it's not!" I landed a last kick, but the impact was too soft to inflict damage. "Nova didn't die for people like these!"

"Vega! Vega, look at me!" Cheeseburger's face came into view when I snapped my head toward my secondary attacker. "It's not worth it."

"But he said--"

"We all heard what he said. Killing him brings you to the same levels as the demons."

"But..." I turned to the figure lying on the floor. He pressed both hands against his visor as he tried to block the escaping air. To the right, I saw somebody running closer while holding a roll of adhesive tape.

"It's okay, Vega" Cheeseburger tightened his squeeze.

"But... but..." Only now did I notice my face was feeling warmer than usual.

"Don't listen to them. You were there. You know what happened. Just calm down. It will all be okay."

"But..."

"Shh... it will all be okay."